This Month in Metal: March 2017

By Sarah Kitteringham

CALGARY — There is no shortage of Calgary bands releasing albums this month. With so many on the horizon, we are going to hunker down and mostly focus on locals for the column this month.

To kick off the proceedings: Burning Effigy and Train Bigger Monkeys are both releasing new records on Saturday, March 4th at Distortion in Calgary. The bands will be performing with Krepitus and Sonder; tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. We chatted with Burning Effigy for more information.

Together since 2008, Burning Effigy released their debut Salem in 2014, and is now on the cusp of releasing their newest EP Lost Serenity. Comprised of vocalist Colin Allan-Fitterer, guitarists Brent Matusik and Brendon Langlois, bassist Jorge Mares, and drummer Mike Bolduc, the band has progressed significantly with time.

“Our songs have become a lot more aggressive and technical, leaving behind some of the thrash elements and incorporating a lot more of a death metal/progressive approach to our new material,” explains bassist Mares. The lyrical approach will be similar to previous material, however.
“The songs in Lost Serenity still focus on historical events and personal struggles, much like Salem. We always feel that we can connect to our audience by expressing ourselves from what we have learned from our own past experiences and relating it to a historical event in a metaphorical way,” he says.

Available on CD at the show, the EP will also be for sale through their online store and on streaming sites iTunes, Bandcamp, Spotify, Google Play, and Apple Music.

Lock Up will be releasing their newest offering Demonization via Listenable Records on March 10th. The fourth full-length offering by the death/grind super group features newly minted vocalist Kevin Sharp (formerly of Brutal Truth) now providing unrelenting barks alongside bassist Shane Embury, who formed the project in 1998 as a side-project of Napalm Death.

On Saturday, March 11th, Siksika rock band Iron Tusk will be releasing their newest cassette alongside sludge act Oxeneer and metallic hardcore band Empty Visionaires at the Nite Owl in Calgary. Head downstairs to the Library for the gig, tickets are $10 at the door.

You dig Black Sabbath, or else you wouldn’t be reading this column. So… in that spirit, Bat Sabbath is playing Calgary on Saturday, March 18th with Chron Goblin, 7’s Wild, and Sellout. Bat Sabbath is the punk/metalcore act Cancer Bats exclusively playing covers of the legendary metal creators, and it rips. The band is touring across Western Canada in March; they’ll also be hitting Red Deer at the Vat on March 16, Edmonton at the Needle on March 17, and Winnipeg at the Windsor on March 24th.

Slaughterfest 2017 goes down in Edmonton on Saturday, March 25, and features the final Albertaperformance by Edmonton death/grind institution Disciples of Power, alongside sets by Display of Decay, Vile Insignia, Barrows, DethGod, and Misery Tomb. According to a Facebook post, DoP is breaking up due to a dispute with a former member, and aim to rebrand under another name.

“We have been writing and performing some of the new music we have to offer and this is what we are focusing on now,” they wrote on a status posted on February 2, that has been edited for grammar and punctuation.
“The new name will be posted on a later date and it wont throw you off too much. We are who we are, regardless of the name. You can still expect a sonic crushing blitzkrieg to hit you every time. [It’s] what we do…. and we have been known to throw a few oldies in the set. Cheers to you all and see you this summer!”

There is a Memorial Fundraiser for Skyler Rasmussen on Saturday, March 25th in Calgary at Distortion. Featuring performances by Blackest Sin, Traer, Frightenstein, and Path To Extinction, all proceeds from the event will go to his family, who are in a tough financial spot following his unexpected passing.

Says the event description: “We will be hosting this event at Distortion, for a night of music, art, and remembrance. There will not only be live entertainment, but also a silent auction, and a raffle for various prizes, including gift certificates for tattoos, piercings, salon treatments, Cursed Earth Apparel, and pet training/ grooming services. As well as gift baskets from Hazzardous Material, Filth Hounds Beauty!”